Harry and Alice Potter and the Sorcerer's stone
by Natural-Territory
Summary: Also known as The Earlier Drafts Story. In an earlier draft of SS, the Potters lived on an island in the ocean, while the Grangers lived nearby. When the house is destroyed, Mr. Granger rows out and retrieves Harry and (this is where MY plot twist comes in) Harry's twin sister, Alice. The two children are taken to the Dursleys, and that's where our story begins…
1. A Brave Rescue

**[I'm editing this story since the timeline was all wrong. There will be an extra chapter, and it'll all be up shortly.]**

Short _Summary:_

_Also known as The Earlier Drafts Story. In an earlier draft of SS, the Potters lived on an island in the ocean, while the Grangers lived nearby. When the house is destroyed, Mr. Granger rows out and retrieves Harry and (this is where MY plot twist comes in) Harry's twin sister, Alice. The two children are taken to the Dursleys, and that's where our story begins…_

**So in other words, this compounds most of the earlier Harry Potter draft ideas (the Potter island, and the idea that Flamel died long ago when the stone was stolen from him, and it was later found in the Potter vaults (see the HP Lexicon)). I went with the same surnames (you may know that Draco's surname was once Spinks and also used to be Spudgen, Neville's last name used to be Puff, and Hermione's was once Puckle) to avoid confusion, but kept all the the character's first name ideas (Katrina MacDougal (changed to Morag in the book), Gary Thomas rather than Dean, Queenie Greengrass rather than Daphne etc), just for experimentation purposes. Now, Alice is not at all intended to be a Mary-Sue, and if she seems that way, please tell me.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please review if you can!**

* * *

_Chapter One: A Brave Rescue _

After tucking his oldest daughter into bed and making certain that his wife didn't need anything, John Granger stepped out into the front garden to drink his last cup of tea for the evening and smoke his pipe.

It was a cool October night – unseasonably warm, in fact – and his daughters Hermione and Luciana were exceptionally tired from the Halloween festivities that day. Luciana, though only five months old, was still fighting to stay awake, which was why John's wife was rocking her now in the nursery.

The Granger's home was on the shore, which John loved as he was an avid fisherman during his time away from his dental practice. He even had a small boat docked just down the bank for weekend fishing excursions.

John watched the waves in a comfortable silence until all of the sudden –

BANG!

John was knocked onto his back as an explosion, seeming to come from the middle of the ocean, shook the entire street. Scrambling to his feet, John gazed out to the island there just a kilometer out from the shore. A small house stood there – it had been there since the Granger's moved in three years before. He knew that a family lived there, but had never really seen any of them.

Well, a house _once _stood there, at least. As John watched, the house exploded with a flash of green light.

"John?" called Helen from inside in a worried voice. "What was that? Oh…my goodness."

John turned to see Helen standing in the doorway, a whimpering Luciana in her arms and Hermione, now wide-awake, hanging onto her nightgown.

"Some type of explosion." John said, panting and gesturing to the island house. An image of his own family in the same type of situation pushed itself firmly into his mind, and suddenly John was running towards the shore.

"John! Where in the world are you going?" Helen called desperately.

"I'm going to row out there – see if I can help." He said. "Call someone, Helen. The police – anything."

Helen bit her lip, but nodded and took the girls back inside. John made certain his boat was ready, and began to row out.

The sea was eerily calm, the waves small and quiet. John wasn't quite sure how he rowed so fast to the small island – perhaps it was a fatherly superpower; he was reasonably sure the people who lived here had a least one child.

"Hello?" John called hesitantly as he pulled the boat up onto the shore. Making certain it was secured, he climbed over the rocks around the edge of the island and onto the sand, stepping over debris as he went. "Anyone here?"

He couldn't believe the destruction. Only around half of the two-story house remained. John couldn't see any sign of body parts, a fact which he was grateful for.

Stepping under what had once been a front door, John had to stifle a cry. On the ground lay a man around his age with messy black hair and glasses. He was obviously dead, though there weren't any marks on his body that John could see. John swiftly closed the man's eyes out of respect, then continued through the house, praying that he would find survivors.

He couldn't believe something this horrible had happen in their normal seaside neighbourhood. John had a moment to wonder if perhaps other occupants of the house had gotten out when he heard a sharp cry, followed by shuffling from upstairs and a whimper, then two separate sets of crying. John knew that sound; it was a young child's cry, two young children by the sounds of it.

As fast as he dared on the half-broken staircase, John raced upstairs and thanked everything he could think of that the room the cries came from was mostly intact.

On the floor between ruined cribs lay two small children huddled together. They were obviously the same age, which he guessed was around a year and a half – perhaps twins.

"Oh, you poor dears…" John said, immediately going to pick them up. Their cries quieted down a bit. John could tell that they weren't seriously injured – perhaps bruised a bit, and they both had small gashes on their pale foreheads, but other than that the children seemed fine.

"Mummy…" said the black-haired baby in between sobs.

"Daddy!" cried the red-haired child.

John grimaced. He realized that the man downstairs was probably their father – he and the little girl shared the same brown eyes, and the baby boy had the same messy hair – but John didn't know where their mother could be.

Thinking of his own eldest daughter, John decided to ask the children:

"Where is mummy?" he said gently, bouncing the children slightly. "Did she go to get help?"

The boy simply shivered a bit, pointing to John's left, where the floor ended in a ten-foot drop to the ground below. Cautiously, John peered over the edge and had to bit his lip to keep from crying out and scaring the children.

A beautiful young woman lay on the ground below, her neck tilted the wrong way, obviously broken. She had the little girl's red hair.

Clutching the children to his chest, John quickly made his way down the stairs, stepping off just as they cracked and began to crumble.

He never quite remembered rowing back to the shore; John had never seen death before, except family members who had died from sickness or old age, and even that he had never personally witnessed more than three times. His movements were robotic as he handed the two children to his wife so he could tie up the boat.

"Someone is on the way." Helen informed as they wrapped the still-whimpering children in blankets and made them warm bottles. "He should be here any–"

There was a knock on the door, and John went to get it while Helen held the children, singing them a quiet lullaby.

John's jaw dropped. The man standing before him had long white hair, a white beard just as long, and wore a dark purple cloak. He looked saddened and weary, but gave John a small smile.

"Hello, Mr. Granger. I believe I spoke to your wife on the phone?" John nodded slowly. "I'm with the Ministry."

"You _are_?" John couldn't help but saying.

The man's smile grew a bit. "Yes – I suppose I don't look the part, do I? Well in any case, I'm here to take the children to their closest relatives."

John nodded. "Could I – er – see some ID?" he wasn't about to release the two children to someone just because they said so.

"Of course." The man said pleasantly, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out an identification card, complete with his picture, ministry department name, and signatures of superiors.

It looked right to John, so he nodded and beckoned the man inside. John was still a bit in shock from all the events of that night; his arms and legs felt slightly tingly and his chest was tight.

The man gave a sigh of relief when he saw the children, and Helen smiled grimly, handing them over to him.

"A team from the Ministry will be here shortly to investigate." He explained. "They would greatly appreciate your testimonies, if you don't mind. "

"Of course." John said agreeably. Anything to help bring a madman like that to justice.

"Thank you very much for taking care of the children." The man added, starting towards the door.

"Wait!" John couldn't help but say. His eyes were fixed on the children, who were now sleeping peacefully in the bearded man's arms.

"Yes?" the man asked, his bushy eyebrows raised.

"What…" John paused for a minute, then forced himself to continue, "What are their names?"

The old man gave a small smile.

"Harry and Alice Potter." He said, then stepped out the door and disappeared in a whirl of purple cloak.


	2. A Trip to the Zoo

_Chapter Two: A Trip to the Zoo_

Though no evidence in the forth home on Privet Drive implied that three children lived in the home instead of just one, Harry James and Alice Lily potter remained. While the walls were covered with pictures of a fat blond boy, occasionally with a walrus-sized father or horse-faced mother, the two Potter twins, taken from that island almost nine years ago, still lived in the house.

Harry and Alice had grown into rather extraordinary children – and not just because of all the extraordinary things that seemed to happen to them. They both liked to read, and they enjoyed school even though their aunt and uncle told the teachers that they were horrible trouble makers and their cousin threatened anyone who tried to be their friend. Thankfully, most of the teachers didn't listen to their aunt and uncle, but the fact remained that most children were afraid of Dudley and his 'gang', and so the Potter twins had no one but each other. However, they knew they were lucky to have even that, and tried to count their blessings.

Harry had very messy black hair and Alice had long, thick, frizzy red hair. Both children had long thin legs with knobbly knees, and, more importantly, the same scars on their foreheads.

On the right side of Alice's forehead and the left side of Harry's were lightning–bolt shaped scars, supposedly received when their parents died. When the siblings had asked their Aunt Petunia why they didn't have parents, she had snapped that they died in a car crash (_"Where you got those horrible scars!"_) and told them not to ask questions.

For the most part, the Potter twins tried to stick to themselves and just get through the day, but sometimes they couldn't help but cause a little trouble to their hateful aunt, rude cousin, and anger–filled uncle. For example, just last month they had added a generous amount of laxatives to the Dursley's food.

That was why they had spent the last few weeks in their cupboard apart from school. However, it had been worth it.

"Up! Get up, you ungrateful brats! Right now!" Came Aunt Petunia's voice through the cupboard door. A loud pounding followed, and Harry and Alice Potter jerked awake.

Harry, who lay right beside the door, sat up and groggily pulled on clothes that were far too big for him – hand-me-downs from their cousin, Dudley – then placed his glasses on his nose and sighed. Alice peeled herself off of the wall and grabbed the nearest ugly dress (a 'gift' from their aunt), quickly re–adjusting the piece of paper taped on the wall there.

It was a reminder. Like I mentioned before, the twins tried to count their blessings. The paper looked like this:

_Good Things:_

**_–Food almost every day_**

_–A warm place to sleep_

**_–School_**

**_-Water_**

_–Books_

_–Being outside_

**_–When the Dursleys leave_**

**_–_****_Not being sick_**

_–Each other_

The twins looked over this every day to remind themselves that even though their lives weren't perfect, they still weren't horrible. And the truth was, the cupboard under the stairs was the warmest place in the house during winter, which was the _only_ good thing the twins could find about their living space.

It may sound hard to believe, but the twins really did sleep in this tiny closet. Ever since Albus Dumbledore had left them on the Dursley's doorstep ten years ago (not that they knew about Albus Dumbledore or that they had been left on the doorstep at all), this had been their room. Petunia and Vernon never made it a secret that they detested their niece and nephew, and privately the twins thought that the Dursleys only accepted them into the house because they wanted someone to clean.

Alice glanced as the tiny clock they had stolen from Dudley and repaired. It read **6:00am**.

"Why is she getting us up so early?" the red haired girl moaned to her brother. "It's summer!"

"Don't you remember what day it is?" asked Harry sarcastically, pulling on his ripped and filthy sneakers. He put on a high voice, "Its _Precious Duddykins'_ birthday!"

Harry and Alice both rolled their eyes. Every year, their Aunt woke them up even earlier than usual to make breakfast for their fat cousin's birthday. Dudley was very spoiled and rarely went without something he wanted, so naturally on his birthday he got dozens of presents, most of which he broke within a week. Harry and Alice had never received a single present – unless you counted broken pencils, old socks, chipped tea cups, coat hangers, and the like, which they were sometimes given by their relatives on birthdays and Christmas, if they got anything at all.

One their birthday, the twins usually tried to get a present for each other. Of course the Dursley's didn't give them spending money, but if you tried hard enough, you could find something quite nice. On their tenth birthday, Harry got Alice an old silk pillow their neighbour had been throwing out, and Alice found Harry three slightly melted army men at the park. They may not sound like very good gifts, but the fact that the twins had searched high and low all day for these things made them quite special.

There was also the fact that they had barely a dozen possessions each – including clothes.

"ARE YOU UP YET?" demanded Aunt Petunia, banging on the twin's door. The children jumped.

"Nearly," Alice replied, trying to finger-comb her matted hair. She was sure that if the Dursleys gave them a decent amount of time in the bathroom their hair wouldn't look so mad.

"Well move!" Petunia said gruffly. "You'd better be in the kitchen and cooking in three minutes, or else! Everything has to be perfect for Dudley's special day!"

Alice and Harry both rolled their eyes, but Alice said, "We're getting ready, Aunt Petunia!"

Alice was still pulling on her shoes when she heard banging on the stairs. Dudley was awake.

As usual, he stopped right above the area when he knew the twin's bed was and began to jump up and down.

"Come on, get up!" he yelled obnoxiously. "We're going to the zoo!"

Harry glared at the ceiling as their cousin cackled and ran down the steps. The twins stood, brushing spiders and dust off of them and opening the door.

They barely dodged Dudley as he went to push the twins, causing him to stumble into the wall. Before he could do more than glare, Harry and Alice shot off, laughing, into the kitchen. Their aunt glared at them as they entered, only to burst into happy squeals when Dudley followed. While Harry and Alice began cooking the bacon, Petunia fussed over Dudley. Uncle Vernon soon entered, and barked, "Do something with that ratty hair, boy." Instead of 'good morning', like a polite person might say.

About once a week, Uncle Vernon would bark that Alice 'must get that nasty hair cut right away!' and for Harry to 'do something with that horrible mop!'. The Dursleys never spent more than the very minimum amount of money on the twins, like the forty pounds they had reluctantly shelled out for Harry's glasses – the cheapest pair that was a prescription. So, their aunt always cut their hair. Every time, Petunia would cut her niece's hair just below her ears, ragged and uneven, then make her some lopsided bangs to 'cover that awful scar'. She would do the same with Harry, only his would be even shorter. The first few times, the twins couldn't sleep. They couldn't stop worrying about how much more they would be picked on in school if they walked in with those haircuts.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Actually, it happened each time Petunia cut either of the twin's hair.

It would grow back. Simple as that; by the next morning, their hair would be the same length as before, if not longer. Harry and Alice, personally, thought it was an emotion–fuelled superpower, like the people who can suddenly lift cars off of their children. They hated their haircuts so much that their bodies worked overtime until it was back to normal.

While Dudley counted his presents, Harry and Alice thought with excitement about the day ahead. They couldn't wait to go to the zoo; they rarely got out of the house, except for school and sometimes to go to the store with their Aunt.

Harry and Alice had always been thankful that they looked so different from their relatives. While the twins had the same face shape, eyebrows, lips, nose, and eyes, not to mention their scars, of course, the Dursleys were completely different. Aunt Petunia was a skinny woman, with a horse–like face, perfectly shaped hair, and a long neck. Dudley and Uncle Vernon were both huge, with pink skin, hardly any neck, and small, watery eyes. Vernon had a thick handlebar moustache and brown hair, while Dudley had smooth blond hair that lay perfectly on his fat head. Aunt Petunia said Dudley was like a little angel. Harry and Alice said Dudley was like a pig with a wig.

As Harry and Alice laid the plates on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room, Dudley finished counting his presents.

"Thirty six." He said, looking at Vernon and Petunia with his eyes narrowed. "That's two less than last year."

_Uh oh, _Harry and Alice thought together. They began eating quickly, sensing danger.

"Darling, you haven't counted Aunt Marge's present, see? It's over there under that big one from mummy and daddy."

"All right, thirty–seven then." Dudley said, beginning to go red. Harry and Alice began to eat even faster, lest Dudley flip the table over. Again.

Petunia obviously saw trouble coming as well, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another _two_ presents while we're out. How's that sweetums? _Two _more presents. That's all right, isn't it?"

Dudley began to think; never an easy task for him. Finally, he said, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…um…"

"Thirty–nine, sweetums." Aunt Petunia filled in.

"Oh! All right then!" Dudley said happily, and began to open a present.

Uncle Vernon chuckled.

"Little tyke wants to get his money's worth, just like his father! Atta boy, son!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.

Soon, Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss arrived. He was a scrawny thing with a rat–like face; his job in Dudley's gang was to hold people's arms while Dudley hit them. It was Harry's and Alice's greatest ambition in life to give him a good kick.

Half an hour later, they were all in the Dursley's car on the way to the zoo. Just minutes ago, the twin's uncle had taken them aside and threatened them…

"I'm warning you now, brats." He said, holding the twins to the wall with one meaty hand each. "Any funny business, anything at all, and you'll be in that cupboard until Christmas. Understood?"

"We're not going to do anything!" Harry protested, not sure if he should be afraid or angry.

"Honestly!" Alice added

But Uncle Vernon, surprisingly, didn't believe them.

The car ride in the backseat with Dudley and Piers was horrible. They were both loud and annoying and loved to pinch and shove the twins. While they drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. It was one of his favorite things to do. He liked to complain about the council, the twins, the bank, the twins, bills, the twins, neighbors, and the twins. Today, his topic was motorcycles.

"…Speeding along, weaving in and out like that, so inconsiderate," he grumbled while Petunia nodded firmly.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle last night!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Agreed Harry "Me too! It was flying!"

"Right!"

Uncle Vernon slammed on the breaks, nearly hitting the car in front of them.

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" he roared at Harry and Alice. Dudley and Piers snickered.

"We know _that_! It was only a dream!" Harry protested. But both of them still wished they hadn't said anything; the Dursleys hated anything out–of–the–ordinary.

Soon, they were at the zoo, and Harry and Alice was having the time of their lives. The Dursleys had bought them a cheap ice pop each at the entrance when the attendant spotted them, and they loved being out of the house. After wandering around for a while, they made it inside to the reptile house. It was cool inside, and Harry and Alice relaxed for a moment, reading the plaques and admiring the animals.

"Come on, move!" Dudley's loud voice brought Harry and Alice out of their peaceful conversation about bearded lizards. He was beside the twins now, with Piers of course, which made sense because Harry and Alice had been standing in front of the biggest snake in the place.

Dudley rapped on the glass and yelled again. Harry and Alice sighed.

_Why can't he just leave it alone?_ Alice wondered.

_He always has to be bothering **something**,_ Harry thought

It was bad enough when he was terrible with his cousins – he didn't even _know _the snake.

"Dad, make it move!" Dudley wined in his father's direction.

Uncle Vernon wandered over and tapped on the glass. The snake didn't move. Dudley banged on it with his fist.

"Leave him, Dudley." Harry said, turning to his cousin and glaring. He ignored both of them, deemed the snake boring, and he and Piers wandered off.

"Sorry about that. Our cousin can be a real ass," Alice said to the snake. The snake blinked sleepily and raised its head. It nodded.

Harry and Alice gaped. They exchanged a look. They didn't know snakes could nod. The twins glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn't. So the Potters turned back to the snake.

"You can understand us?" Harry asked slowly. The snake hissed and nodded again. It glanced at Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then shook its head, as if to say _'I get that all the time'._

"I bet." Harry and Alice together,

"It must be horrible." Harry said.

The snake nodded vigorously.

"I've never talked to a snake before…" said Alice, leaning closer to the glass. "Do you talk to people often?"

The snake shook its head.

"You're from Brazil, right?" Harry asked, nodding towards the plaque in front of the snake's cage. It nodded again. "Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?"

The snake jabbed its tail at the sign.

"Oh…" Harry said. There was a line of text at the bottom she hadn't read: THIS SPECIMEN WAS BRED AT THE ZOO.

"Us too." Alice said. "We don't remember our parents at all–"

Suddenly, Piers appeared behind her. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! DUDLEY! COME LOOK AT THE SNAKE! QUICK!"

Harry and Alice cried out as they were suddenly pushed hard onto the ground. Alice winced at her bleeding knee and ripped tights, and Harry rubbed his bottom gingerly. Dudley shouted for his mother and father to come see what the snake was doing. Harry and Alice were so mad they were shaking. The twins were sick of Dudley pushing them around!

Dudley's chubby face was pressed against the glass cage, as was Piers', sneering at the snake, and then something unexpected happened.

The glass vanished.

It was that simple: one minute the glass was there, and then it was gone. Dudley and Piers both fell head over heels into the pool inside the snake cage. They screamed bloody murder as the snake seemed to glare right at them, then slithered out onto the floor.

Harry and Alice stared with wide eyes as the snake stopped before them.

"Brazzzzzzzzil here I come. Thankssssss, amigo." It hissed.

"A–anytime!" Harry and Alice said nervously, grinning. The snake slithered for the exit, hissing at people's feet and snapping playfully at their ankles. There was a sudden stampede for the exits as everyone tried to escape from the snake. Meanwhile, Dudley and Piers began to scream and yell yet again, drawing the twin's attention back to them, only to see that the glass was back in place, and the two bullies were still on the other side. Petunia and Vernon ran forward, banging on the glass and yelling for Dudley, but Harry and Alice couldn't help but laugh.

When they glanced back at her aunt and uncle, however, she saw Vernon glaring at them, and realized laughing had been a very big mistake indeed.

After many apologies by the zoo manger and the reptile keeper, they were finally in the car. Piers was soon back at home, Dudley was in a blanket given to them by the zoo, shivering and looking like he was probably scarred for life, and Vernon and Petunia were exchanging grim looks.

When they pulled into Number Four, Petunia and Dudley rushed in, followed by Vernon and the Potters. Harry and Alice knew that something very bad was about to happen, and they were right.

Vernon cornered them against the wall by their cupboard.

"What. Did. You. Do." He growled at them.

"Nothing!" Harry cried.

"Really!" added Alice, as their uncle continued to turn a dangerous shade of red that was bordering on purple.

"One minute the glass was there, and then–"

"It was just gone! Like magic!"

Now Vernon was properly purple. He grabbed each twin by the arm and shoved them into their cupboard, slamming it and locking it behind them only to open the small grate and peer in to snarl.

"_There's no such thing as magic_!"


	3. An Abundance of Letters

_Chapter Three: An Abundance of Letters_

The snake incident earned the twins their longest punishment ever. By the time they were allowed out, school was out for the summer and Dudley had broken half of his birthday presents, not to mention knocked over an elderly woman with his racing bike as she crossed the street.

Aunt Petunia glared at them as usual when they entered the kitchen to a horrible smell wafting from the sink. The twins glanced inside and raised their eyebrows. It looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water.

"What's this?" Alice asked Aunt Petunia. The woman's lips tightened as they always did when one of them dared to ask a question.

"Your new school uniforms," She said shortly.

"Oh," Harry said, his voice heavy with false innocence. "I didn't realize they had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia while Alice covered a giggle with a feeble cough. "I'm dying some of mine and Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."

The twins thought this was unlikely, but they cooked the breakfast and tried not to think about how much they would be teased at Stonewall High. At least one good thing would come of going to this new school – the Potters would be away from Dudley for the first time in their lives. Perhaps they'd even make friends...

Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in at around eight, and made faces at the smell from the twins' uniforms. When Aunt Petunia had her back turned to kiss Uncle Vernon on the cheek, Dudley kicked at Harry's legs while aiming a swat at Alice's head. It was his usual good–morning to the twins, impossible to dodge because although Dudley was large and dim–witted, he rarely missed.

Harry and Alice glared at Dudley as they set the plates on the portion of the table that wasn't covered by presents, but he simply smirked back. A few moments later, they all heard the click of the mail slot and letters flopping onto the mat.

"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his newspaper.

"Make Alice get it."

"Get the mail, Alice."

"Make Dudley get it."

"Poke 'er with your Smelting stick, Dudley."

Alice deftly dodged the stick and went to get the mail. Smeltings was Uncle Vernon's Alma Mater, and where Dudley would begin high school in a few months. One of the things required of the boys attending there was a stick like a walking cane, which was used to hit other children when the teacher wasn't looking.

Five things lay on the mat; a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge, who was on vacation, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, a letter to Dudley from a friend, and…wait – were those... _letters for Harry and Alice?_

Alice picked them up and stared at them, her heart beating fast. No one had ever written to either of them before. Who would write to them anyway? They had no friends, no other relatives…they didn't even belong to the library, and so never go so much as a missive complaining about overdo books. Yet here it was, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake, even if Alice had the brain power of Dudley's friend Malcolm:

_Mr. H. Potter_

_The cupboard under the stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

_Miss A. Potter_

_The cupboard under the stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

The envelopes were thick and heavy, made of yellow parchment. The addresses were written in shinning emerald ink, and there was no stamp. Turning an envelope over, Alice noticed a red wax seal with a lion, a badger, an eagle, and a snake, all around a letter _H_.

"Hurry up, girl!" Uncle Vernon shouted. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" he chuckled as if people's mail exploding was humorous to him.

Alice hurried into the kitchen, handing Uncle Vernon the bill, postcard, and Dudley's letter, as Dudley had problems reading, bless him. Last Alice handed her brother his letter, giving him an _I know, it's weird isn't it? _look. Harry stared at her incredulously, and then started to open it.

Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, tossed it aside and turned over the postcard.

"Marge is ill," He told Aunt Petunia sadly, "Ate a funny whelk…"

"Dad!" Dudley said suddenly, "Dad, they've got something!"

Harry and Alice were just about to unfold their letters when they were snatched roughly from their hands.

"Hey!" cried Alice, reaching for hers.

"Those are ours!" echoed Harry with a glare.

"Ha! Who'd be writing to you?" Sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking a letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from its normal ruddy red to green faster than the twins had ever seen it before.

"P-p-p-Petunia!" He gasped, looking at her with wide eyes.

Dudley tried to grab the letters, but Uncle Vernon held them both out of his chubby son's reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and scanned it. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.

"Vernon! Oh my goodness – _Vernon_!"

They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry, Alice and Dudley were still in the room. The twins couldn't imagine what could possibly worry their aunt and uncle so much, and weren't sure if they should be afraid of what could be in there, or excited.

Dudley wasn't used to being ignored like his cousins, and gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.

"I want to read those letters," He said loudly.

"_We _want to read them," Alice said loudly. "As they're _ours_."

"Get out, all of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.

The twins didn't move, and neither did Dudley.

"Give us our letters!" cried Harry.

"Let _me _see it!" Dudley demanded.

"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he grabbed the children and threw them out into the hall, slamming the door after them. Dudley and the Potters immediately scrambled to see who would listen at the door. By brute force, Dudley ended up at the key hole. Alice and Harry were forced to press their ears to the cracks between the door and the wall.

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "Look at the addresses – how could they _possibly_ know where they sleep? Goodness, y–you don't think they're watching the house?"

"Watching – spying – might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.

"But what should we do, Vernon? Perhaps we write back? Tell them we don't want–"

"No," said Uncle Vernon after a minute. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer….yes, that's best…, we won't do anything…"

"But–"

"I'm _not_ having that in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took the brats in we'd stamp out all that dangerous nonsense?"

* * *

That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before: he visited the twins in their cupboard.

"Where're our letters?" demanded Harry the moment he had squeezed through the door.

"Who's writing to us?" Alice said quickly. The twins had never wanted something so bad in their lives as to know what was in those letters.

"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I've burned them."

"It was _not _a mistake," Harry said angrily. The twins hated being treated like they were stupid.

"It had our cupboard on it!" Alice cried, tears in her eyes. Though Alice was a tough girl, she got frustrated easily and hated injustice. The Dursleys _never _did anything remotely kind for them – was it so much to just ask for the mail that was addressed to them?

"_SILENCE_!" yelled Uncle Vernon. The twins winced slightly, while a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked rather painful.

"Er – yes, Harry, Alice – about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking…you're really getting a bit big for it…we think it might be _nice_ if you two just moved into Dudley's second bedroom."

"Why?" Harry asked curiously. The twins started to feel a bit excited at the idea, but it wasn't like the Dursleys to be nice.

"Don't ask questions!" snapped their uncle, ruining that illusion. "Just take all this stuff upstairs, now."

* * *

The Dursley house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Vernon's sister, Marge, who was horrible and hated the twins almost more than the Dursleys themselves), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took the Potters one trip upstairs to move everything they owned from the cupboard.

Aunt Petunia went to the store and came back with several large plastic boxes, which she stuffed all of Dudley's things into that were in the second room – most of it was broken, but luckily she ignored the bookshelf, which had never been touched and held some items of interest to the twins, especially Alice. She also bought some pillows and blankets for the three children – albeit from a second-hand store, but at least they were clean – and Uncle Vernon, cursing and sweating, assembled an extra bed he had bought from a neighbour.

When they were done, they room actually looked fit for a pair of ten year olds to inhabit: one bed was against the wall by the window, the other bed that had already been in the room was pushed to the wall where the desk was, with the desk and bookshelf one either side. There was only one closet in the room, but of course Harry and Alice didn't have many clothes as it was.

"Yesterday, I would have given two day's food to be up here." Alice said glumly, laying on her bed once everything was in place.

"Me too." Harry agreed, sitting on the floor and un–tying and re–tying his shoes. "Now I just wish we had the letters."

Alice nodded her agreement. The twins felt rather selfish for wanting two simple letters when they had a real bedroom for the first time in their lives, but they couldn't help but be curious. "_You never know,"_ Alice loved to say. She said it every birthday ("_You never know – they might give us something nice this year!_"), at the start of every school year ("_You never know – maybe we'll make some friends!_"), and now she could only think of one thing to say:

"You never know – what's in those letters could change our lives."

But they highly doubted that, even more so than getting a nice present. After all, they were just pieces of paper.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––

The next morning at breakfast, Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, been sick on purpose, whacked his father with the Smelting's stick, thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and kicked his mother, but he still didn't have his second bedroom back. Alice was thinking about this time yesterday and wishing she had opened the letters in the hall, or just stuffed them in their cupboard. Harry was pushing his eggs around, not feeling hungry but trying to make himself eat – the twins couldn't really rely on meals at Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.

When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to the twins for some reason, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting's stick all the way down the hall. After a moment he shouted, "There're more! Mr. H. Potter the window–side bed, the smallest bedroom, Miss A. Potter, the –"

With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt up from his seat and ran down the hall with the twins right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letters from him, which was made more difficult by the fact the Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon from behind around the neck and Alice had his feet. After a minute of confused fighting in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting's stick and bitten frequently by Alice, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, both letters clutched in his meaty hand.

"Go to your cupboard – I mean, your – your bedroom," he wheezed to the twins. "Dudley – go – j–just go."

"They know we've moved from the cupboard," Alice said.

"And they know we didn't get the first letter," added harry. "So that means they'll try again, right?"

"They have to," agreed Alice quickly, hope in her voice. "They won't give up easily, I bet, whoever they are."

"We have to help them this time," said Harry, biting his lip. "But what could we do?"

They both thought for a moment. Alice was hanging off her bed and Harry was pacing the room. This was one of the many advantages to finally having a room; in their cupboard, they could barely sit up straight, much less move around.

"I've got it!" Harry suddenly exclaimed with a grin.

* * *

The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and they got dressed silently. They mustn't wake the Dursleys – that was the most important part of the plan. They quickly stole downstairs without turning on any lights, both skilfully avoiding the creaky step.

Harry and Alice were going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for Number Four first. Both of their hearts hammered as they crept across the dark hall toward the front door –

"AAAAARRRRRGGHHH!"

Alice leapt into the air; she'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat – something _alive!_

Lights clicked on upstairs, and to the twin's horror, they realized that Alice had stepped on Uncle Vernon. The man had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly trying to make sure they wouldn't do exactly what they'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry and Alice for half an hour, then told them to go make some tea. They shuffled miserably off to the kitchen and by the time they got back, the mail had been delivered right into Uncle Vernon's lap. They could see at least a dozen letters addressed in green ink.

Before they could say a word, Uncle Vernon began tearing the letters into pieces.

Uncle Vernon stayed home from work that day and nailed up the mail slot.

"He's finally lost it." Alice said blandly as she, Harry, and Dudley watched the man trying to nail in a nail with a slice of fruitcake.

* * *

On Friday, no less than thirty letters arrived for the twins. As they couldn't go through the mail slot, they had been pushed under the door, through the sides, and some were even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.

Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could get out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.

On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Forty eight letters to Alice and Harry had found their way into the house by way of the two dozen eggs that a very confused milkman had passed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor while Uncle Vernon made furious calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to.

"Who on earth wants to talk to _you _this badly?" Dudley asked the Potters in amazement. Neither had an answer.

* * *

On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.

"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "No damn letters today, no sir, not a single–"

Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply in the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Alice and Harry, after a confused moment, leapt to their feet, trying to catch one.

"Out! OUT!" Uncle Vernon shouted, seizing Harry around the waist and throwing him into the hall, followed by Alice. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley ran out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.

"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly and pulling chunks out of his moustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"

He looked so dangerous with half his moustache missing that no one dared argue. Harry and Alice raced up to their room to pack, and as Harry turned to his sister glumly, he saw that Alice was grinning.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked suspiciously.

Alice didn't answer, but reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a letter.

"You got one!" Harry gaped. "How?!"

"Never mind that," Alice said, going to sit on Harry's bed. "Let's read it while we have time!"

She offered the letter to Harry, and slowly he slid open the envelope and pulled out the thick paper. The letter was written in emerald in, just like the front. Harry read it aloud, his voice stumbling with shock every few words:

"Hogwarts school of – of Witchcraft and Wiz-_Wizardry_. Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore – Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand S-Sorcerer, Chief Warlock,

Supreme M-Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards." he and Alice stared at each other for nearly a minute, open-mouthed. A school of witchcraft and wizardry? This had to be fake.

But they were still going to finish it.

"Dear Miss Potter," Harry continued quickly. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress."

It was silent in the bedroom for nearly two minutes. Both of the children were thinking the same thing – this _couldn't _be real.

But though the Dursleys enjoyed it when the twins were disappointed, they weren't the kind to play jokes, especially when they involved something fantastical like _magic._

"Okay, this is mad." Alice said finally. "If we got letters from – from a _wizard school_, then that must mean..."

"GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW YOU BRATS!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and Harry and Alice jumped. They had almost forgotten that they were supposed to be packing.

The twins looked at each other, not sure what to do. Their desire to finish the letter was almost overshadowed by their fear that Uncle Vernon would burst in and see it.

"I know!" Harry declared. "We'll pack in it our bag, and read it the first chance we get."

Alice nodded her agreement, and they both quickly stuffed all of their belongings into an old duffle bag. Besides about six outfits and two pairs of shoes each, the twins had a pillow and blanket each, an old flashlight, Harry's half-melted army men, and Alice's sock doll she had made herself. They packed the letters in the bottom, put everything else on top (who knew when they'd be coming back anyway), and ran downstairs.

Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the front seat; his father had hit him round the head (much to the twins' delight) for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.

They drove and they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.

"Shake 'em off….gotta shake 'em off…" He would mutter whenever he did this.

They didn't stop to eat or drink all day, which didn't particularly bother Harry and Alice, but by nightfall, Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up aliens on his computer. Comparatively, this was a rather good day for Harry and Alice. No chores, no being screamed at, seeing parts of the country they never had before…they couldn't really complain.

Uncle Vernon finally stopped at a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley, Harry, and Alice were given a room with two full beds and damp sheets.

As soon as Dudley's snoring could be heard, Harry and Alice sat up in their bed, pulled the sheets over their head, and pulled out their flashlight and letter.

"You read the second page." Harry suggested, handing it to Alice. It seemed to be some sort of supply list.

"Okay," she agreed. "Ahem – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Uniform: First-Year students will require: Three sets of plain work robes (black), at least three plain white collared shirts (short or long sleeved), at least two pairs of black, dark grey, or navy trousers for wizards, the same colours in skirts for witches, socks (of any length) in white, black, dark grey, and/or navy, at least three sweaters (no–sleeved or long–sleeved) in black or grey, black shoes of any style, winter accessories such as hats, scarves, and gloves in black or grey, one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), and one winter cloak (black, silver fastenings). Course books: All students should have a copy of each of the following: The Standard Books of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Draughts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble. Other equipment – 1 W-_wand_, 1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2), 1 set glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, 1 set brass scales. Students may also bring an owl _or_ a cat _or_ a toad. _Parents are reminded that first year students are not allowed their own broomsticks._"

Yet again, the Potter twins simply stared at one another. It was one think to make a faux exception letter to a wizard school, but to go to the trouble of making a supply list complete with uniforms and books…

Harry and Alice didn't talk for the rest of the night, but they sat up together, leaning against the headboard, wondering…

Everyone ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next morning. Harry and Alice didn't speak, not even to each other. All they could think about were their letters. Everyone had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.

"'Scuse me, but is any of yous Mr. H. Potter or Miss A. Potter? Only I got abou' a 'undred of these at the fron' desk."

She held up two letters.

_Mr. H. Potter_

_Room 17_

_Railview Hotel_

_Cokeworth_

_Miss A. Potter_

_Room 17_

_Railview Hotel_

_Cokeworth_

Harry and Alice (even though they already knew what was in them) and Dudley all made a grab for the letters, but Uncle Vernon knocked their hands away with a sharp glare.

"I'll take them," he said while the woman watched with an eyebrow raised, and followed her out of the dining room.

"Wouldn't it be better to just go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened at the top of a multilevel parking garage, halfway across a suspension bridge, and in the middle of a ploughed field.

"Dad's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.

It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. The Potters scooted closer together. Dudley shivered.

"It's Monday," He told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a _television_."

Monday. This reminded the twins of something. If it _was _Monday – and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television – then tomorrow, Tuesday, was their eleventh birthday. Of course, their birthdays were never exactly fun – last year, the Dursleys had given Alice a broken pencil and Harry a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks, and they hadn't even had a chance to get each other anything this year. Still, you weren't eleven every day….

Soon Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He carried a long, thin package, and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked him what he'd brought.

"Found the perfect place!" He said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

It was freezing outside. Alice's long hair whipped in the wind, hitting Harry and Dudley in the face. Uncle Vernon pointed out at a miserable shack on a rock out in the sea. It was even colder in the boat; icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks. Halfway cross, they were soaking wet. The sea water burned their eyes, and the twins curled up together, trying to keep warm. It seemed like hours until they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.

The inside was almost as horrible as being outside in the cold; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms: a living room, containing the empty fireplace, a sofa, and a battered wooden table, and bedroom with a single bed and two worn side tables.

Something about being here was familiar to the twins, but they couldn't quite place it.

The only food Uncle Vernon had brought turned out to be a bag of chips and a banana each. He tried to start a fire afterwards, but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" He said cheerfully, his right eye twitching a bit.

He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. The Potters privately agreed, but of course it didn't cheer them up at all. They had no way to contact these 'Hogwarts' people – unless, perhaps…

The twins shared a look, thinking the same thing. The letter had said, 'We await your owl' – maybe the two could just find an owl somewhere in the woods and tie a reply message to its foot?

As night fell, a storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few mouldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry and Alice were left to use the most ragged blanket. Unbeknownst to the Dursleys, the twins had brought their blankets and pillows, so once Dudley was snoring, they took out their things and made a proper, warmish bed.

Then, they discussed their letters.

"Something about them must have been real." Harry whispered. "They scared Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to death when they read them."

"Maybe that's why so many weird things happen to us!" Alice said. "Maybe we have some sort of…power."

Simultaneously, the twins grinned at the thought. Certainly it was _possible_, at least. The letters had seemed real enough; they looked very similar to the acceptance letter Dudley had received from Smeltings.

"Okay, it says 'We await your owl'," Harry said. "Does that mean any owl? Could we just go out into the woods, find an owl, and give it a response letter telling them we want to go but don't know how to go about it?"

Alice was staring at Harry with wide eyes.

"What?" he asked uncomfortably.

"That's it, Harry!" Alice said. "Tomorrow morning we wake up early, sneak out and row across to the woods. We can find and owl and give it the letter!"

Harry tilted his head slightly, thinking.

"But what if it has to be a special kind of owl?" he asked. "Like a magical one or something?"

"What do we have to loose?" Alice countered.

Harry didn't have an answer to that.

Even with their plan set, the twins couldn't sleep. The lightened dial of Dudley's watch told them that they would be eleven in ten minutes.

Alice traced a birthday cake in the grimy floor, writing HAPPY BIRTHDAY Harry AND ALICE on the side, so they could pretend to blow out the candles at midnight.

Five minutes to go. They heard something creak outside.

"I hope the roof doesn't fall in," said Alice worriedly.

"We might be warmer if it does," Harry countered grimly.

Four minutes to go.

"Maybe by the time morning comes, it'll be clear and easy to row across." hoped Harry.

"_If _morning comes."

Three minutes to go.

"Is that the water?" whispered Alice, hearing a slapping noise outside.

"What's that noise?" gasped Harry, hearing a crunching noise outside. The twins curled up tighter together. What if someone kidnapped them? On the other hand, that couldn't be much worse than the Dursleys…

One minute to go and they'd be eleven. Thirty seconds….twenty….ten…nine…maybe they'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him…three….two…they leaned forward to blow out the fake candles….

BOOM.

The whole shack shook. Harry and Alice sat straight up. Someone was outside.


	4. Keeper of Keys and Grounds

_Chapter Four: Keeper of Keys and Grounds _

BOOM.

Dudley jerked awake.

"Where's the cannon?" He said stupidly.

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the package he had brought.

"Who's there?" He shouted in the general direction of the door. "I warn you – I'm armed!"

There was a pause. Then –

SMASH.

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. Harry and Alice both jumped, Aunt Petunia shrieked, and Dudley let out a high–pitched squeal.

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, wild mane of hair and a messy, tangled beard, but you could just make out his eyes, glittering like black beetles under all that hair.

The giant squeezed into the hut, and Alice quickly dragged her brother into a corner on the other side of the fireplace to hide. Perhaps he would kill the Dursleys and leave them? The twins might be able to paddle the boat back to shore by themselves…

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" They heard him say in a deep voice. The next second, he seemed to address Dudley.

"Hullo there, Harry!" he said happily. "Haven' seen you since you was a baby, o' course, but you're looking a lot rounder than I remembered. Where's your sister?"

Dudley squealed and ran to hide behind his mother, but Harry and Alice shared a look. They thought the giant sounded kind, and Harry decided to take a chance.

"He's not Harry," Harry said timidly, stepping out from the corner. "I – I am."

The giant rolled his eyes, smiling. "Well o' course you are!"

"And I'm Alice." Alice said, moving to stand beside her brother.

"Great ter finally meet you two," the giant said kindly, his black eyes glittering. "You two look just like yer–"

Uncle Vernon cut him off: "I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering!"

"Dry up Dursley, yeh great prune," The giant said wearily, reaching over the back of the sofa and grabbing the shotgun, then twisting it into knot and throwing it into the corner of the room. Uncle Vernon made a funny choking noise.

"Anyway – Alice, yeh look just like yer mother at yer age, though yeh've get yer dad's eyes. Harry, of course, yeh've got yer dad's looks, but those are yer mum's eyes to be sure. Course you already know tha'."

The twins looked at him, then at each other, their mouths hanging open. He had known their parents? Maybe – maybe he was from Hogwarts!

"A very happy birthday to you two, by the way," He continued with a barely–visible grin, reaching into his coat. "I got summat here for yeh – may have sat on it, but I'm sure it'll taste fine all the same–"

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled out a slightly squashed box. He handed it to Harry, who lifted the lid while they both peered inside. It was a large, sticky–looking chocolate cake with _Happy Birthday Harry and Alice _written on it in green icing.

"Who are you?" Alice blurted out.

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He held out an enormous hand, and the twins both shook it. His hand was so huge it enveloped their whole arms. The twins grinned; he _was _from Hogwarts! Maybe they knew that the twins didn't have an owl and came to get their responses personally?

"What about that tea then, eh?" He said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled chip bags and banana peels in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; his huge body blocked the hearth so they couldn't see what he was doing, but when he drew back a moment later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and the Potters felt the warmth wash over them as though they'd sunk into a hot bath.

The giant sat back down under the sofa and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and an amber bottle of something that he took a swig of before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was filled with the sound and smell of sizzling sausages. Nobody said a thing while he was working, but when he slid six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages off the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't eat anything he gives you, Dudley."

The giant chuckled darkly.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

Harry and Alice both had to stifle laughs.

The man passed three sausages each to Harry and Alice. They were so hungry they had never tasted anything so wonderful. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, Alice wiped her hands on her too–big dress and said, "I'm sorry, but…honestly we still don't really know who you are."

"Are you here because we haven't responded to the letters?" asked Harry.

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Call me Hagrid," He said, "Everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – Yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course. Naw though – we weren' really expecting you to respond. We knew you two didn' have an owl, so they sent me to fetch yeh."

"Er – sorry, but no." said Harry, feeling confused. "I mean, we don't really know about Hogwarts. No more than the letters said, at least" He and his sister exchanged looks, wondering why this man assumed they knew about Hogwarts – _should_ they?

"The letters?!" Uncle Vernon suddenly squawked. "How did you two brats manage to get your hands on one of those?! We burned them all!"

Hagrid looked furious, but Alice responded, feeling empowered by Hagrid's presence; both of the twins felt safe with the man.

"I caught one yesterday and hid it." She said proudly. "We read the whole thing."

She pulled it out of their bag, and Uncle Vernon began to turn purple.

"Why you little–!"

"Dursley, if you want ter keep those hands, I suggest you keep 'em to yerself." Hagrid growled as Vernon's hands tightened into fists with his words.

Hagrid turned back to the twins.

"But how could yeh not know about Hogwarts before tha'?" he asked, looking shocked.

"Sorry," said Harry quickly. "We just hadn't heard–"

"_Sorry_?" barked Hagrid, turning back to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank into the shadows. "It's them that should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"Learned what?" asked Harry and Alice in unison, curious.

"LEARNED WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole shack. The Dursleys covered against a wall, and Harry and Alice scooted closer together. They didn't think Hagrid would hurt them or even seriously hurt the Dursleys, but they couldn't be sure.

"Do you mean ter tell me," He growled to the Dursleys. "That these kids – _these kids_! – don't know nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?"

Now, Harry and Alice thought this was going a bit far. They had been to school, after all, and their marks weren't _bad_.

"We know _some _things," Alice said firmly. "We can, you know, do maths and spell things and stuff."

But Hagrid simply waved his hand dismissively and said, "About _our _world, I mean. _Your _world. _My _world. _Yer parents' world_."

"What world?" asked Harry, eyes wide behind his glasses.

Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.

"DURSLEY!" He boomed.

Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble". Hagrid turned to stare pleadingly at the twins.

"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," He said almost desperately, "I mean, they're _famous. _You're _famous."_

"What?" gasped Alice. "F–_famous_? Why?"

"Our – our parents weren't famous…" said Harry, thinking of how they had died in a car crash…where two different people had somehow received the same scar…

The more the twins considered this, the stupider it sounded.

"Were they?" wondered Harry suddenly. "How much do we really know about them, Alice?" he said, looking at his sister.

"It _could_ be true…" Alice agreed slowly.

"Yeh don' know….yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry and Alice with a bewildered stare. The twins, however, were glaring at their Aunt and Uncle.

"Yeh don' know what yeh _are?"_ He said finally, his large hands rubbing over his face.

"'What we are?' D-do you mean the letter was true – that we really are _wizards_?" Alice asked eagerly.

Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.

"Stop!" He commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you from telling them anything!"

A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.

"Yeh never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years?"

"Kept _what _from us?" said the Potter children eagerly. Anything that bothered the Dursleys this much _must _be good news for them.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," Hagrid said. "Alice, Harry – yer wizards."

There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and wind could be heard.

"_What_?" gasped Alice, finding her voice first. They hadn't really thought the letters were real until this moment, even though they had wanted to so desperatley.

"But…we're_–_?"

"Wizards, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower. "An' thumpin' good 'uns I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letters properly – not in _secret_."

He sent another fierce glare at the Dursleys and took out a yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to each of the children; The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. They pulled out their letters and read, even though they already had it memorised:

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock,_**

**_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_**

_Dear Mr. or Miss Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

**_Deputy headmistress._**

Of course, questions immediately exploded inside Harry's and Alice's heads, and they couldn't decide what to ask first now that they had someone to answer something for them. After several seconds of gaping at the letters, each other, Hagrid, and then the letters again, they both stammered a different query at the same time.

"What does 'Order of Merlin, First Class' mean?" Alice said.

"Where do we get our supplies?" questioned Harry.

"Gulpin' gargoyles, that reminds me," Hagrid said, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl – a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that the Potters could read upside down:

**_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_**

**_Given Harry and Alice their letters._**

**_Taking them to buy their things tomorrow._**

**_Weather's horrible. Hope you're well._**

**_Hagrid._**

Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down, as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.

Alice and Harry realised their mouths were hanging open and closed them quickly.

"Where was I?" Hagrid said, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but now looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"They're not going." He said firmly, though his eye was twitching again.

Hagrid grunted. "I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop them."

"A what?" asked Harry, interested.

"A Muggle," Hagrid said, "It's what we call non-magic folk like them. An' it's some bad luck you two grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon loudly, "swore we'd stamp it out of them! Wizards indeed!"

"You _knew?"_ Harry said incredulously.

"You knew we're – we're _wizards_, and you never told us?" said Alice, glaring. Though, the twins thought, this would explain the Dursley's reactions to the letters…

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia. "_Knew! _Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that _school, _and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one to see her for what she was – a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a _witch_ in the family!"

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed that she had been waiting to say all this for years:

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you two, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as – _abnormal. _And _then_, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with _you_!"

The twins were very white. As soon as he found his voice, Harry said softly, "Blown up? You told us they died in a car crash."

"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so quickly that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry and Alice Potter not knowing their story when every kid in our world knows their _names_!"

"But why?" asked Alice. "_Why_ does everyone know about us?"

"What happened?" said Harry urgently. The two of them looked empathically at Hagrid.

The anger faded from the giant's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," He said in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, you two, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh – but someone's gotta – yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great mystery, parts of it…"

He sat down and stared into the fire for a few seconds. Harry and Alice sat on the floor in front of him, waiting eagerly.

"It begins, I suppose, with – with a person called – but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows –"

"Who?" the twins asked enthusiastically.

"Well – I don' like sayin' the name, if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" asked Harry.

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went…bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…."

Hagrid gulped but no words came out.

"Could you write it down?" Alice suggested.

"Nah – can't spell it. All right – _Voldemort_." Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this – this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' for followers. Got 'em, too – some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was getting' himself power, all right. Dark days, you two. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches…terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up ter him – an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. He didn't dare try takin' the school – not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before…probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em…maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up on the tiny island where you all were living, on Halloween ten years ago. You were both just a year old. He came ter yer house an' – an'–"

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.

"Sorry," he said thickly. "But it's that sad – I knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find – anyway…

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing – he tried to kill you two, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Ever wondered how you got those marks on yer forehead? Those aren't no ordinary cuts. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh – took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even – but it didn't work on you three, an' that's why you're famous. No one lived once he decided ter kill 'em, no one except for you three, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age – the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts – an' you was only babies, an' you lived."

Suddenly the twins remembered something – both of them together. It was a flash of green light they had seen before in dreams and talked about in hushed voices in the cupboard afterwards, but much clearer this time – and something else…a high, cold, cruel laugh. They scooted closer together.

Hagrid was watching them sadly.

"A Muggle man on the shore took yeh from the house himself. Rowed out ter the islan' in this tiny boat. Dumbledore came and fetched yeh, then brought yer ter this lot…"

"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry and Alice jumped slightly; they had forgotten the Dursleys were there. He seemed to have gotten his courage back; he was glaring at Hagrid, fists clenched.

"Now, you listen here, brats," Uncle Vernon snarled at them. Normally a speech that started like this would have terrified the children, but with Hagrid there, they didn't feel very scared at all. "I accept there's something strange about you all, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured –" _Like you never tried **that**, _thought Alice with a shudder. "–and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end–"

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley – I'm warning you – one more word…"

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.

The Potters, meanwhile, still had questions to ask – possibly hundreds of them.

"But what happened to Vol-, sorry, I mean, You-Know-Who?" asked Harry.

"Good question, Harry. Well, he jus' disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you two. Makes yeh even _more_ famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see…he was gettin' more an' more powerful – why'd he go?"

Hagrid went on to say that some people thought You-Know-Who had died, but Hagrid didn't think so. Hagrid thought he had lost his powers, and was too weak to go on now. He said there was something about the twins that stumped Voldemort that night. Then he looked at Harry and Alice with a mixture of warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but they – instead of feeling excited and proud – felt that there must be a horrible mistake. Wizards? _Them_? They had spent all their lives being picked on by Dudley and ordered around by their Aunt and Uncle, starved, unloved, and occasionally beaten for things they hadn't even done, or hadn't meant to do. If they were a wizard and witch, why hadn't the Dursleys turned into frogs every time they had annoyed them?

"Hagrid," said Alice quietly, voicing what she and Harry were both thinking. "I think you've…made a mistake. I – I don't think we can be _wizards_."

To their surprise, Hagrid chuckled.

"Not wizards, eh? Never made things happen when you was angry or scared?"

Harry and Alice looked at each other. Now that they thought about it, he was right. Hadn't every odd thing they had done happened when they had been upset or angry? When they had been chased by Dudley's gang, they had somehow found themselves on the roof of the school. When Aunt Petunia had given Harry a horrible haircut, he had somehow made it grow back by morning. When their second year teacher had yelled at Alice for being a know-it-all, her wig suddenly turned blue. When Aunt Petunia had told the twins they weren't allowed to read Dudley's books – even though he never _touched_ them – one had floated down the stairs and into the cupboard that night. And then there was that snake incident…

The twins looked back to Hagrid, smiling, and saw that he was now positively beaming.

"See?" said Hagrid. "The Potter twins, not wizards – you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."

But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"Haven't I told you they're not going?" he hissed. "They're going to Stonewall High and they'll be damn grateful for it. I've read those letters and they need all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and–"

"If they want ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop them," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's kids from goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad! They're names have been down ever since they were born. They're off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know themselves. They'll be with youngsters of their own sort fer a change. _And_ they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen, Albus Dumble–"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head. "NEVER–" he thundered. "–INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!"

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley – there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry and Alice saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.

Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully. "But it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do – what?"

Harry and Alice had burst into laughter. Hagrid looked at them like they were mad for a moment, then began chucking as well. The twins could not stop laughing, leaning on each other for support and gasping for air. _This _was almost more wonderful then the knowledge that they were wizards.

After a minute, Hagrid cleared his throat.

"Anyway – I'd be grateful if yeh didn't mention this ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm – er – not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff – one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job–"

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry curiously.

"Oh, well – I was at Hogwarts meself but I – er…" Hagrid ran his hand through his tangled hair with a frown before continuing, "I got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

Harry started to ask why he was expelled, but his sister knew this wouldn't be polite, and nudged him casually.

"Anyway – it's late, and we've got a lot ter do tomorrow. Get up ter town, get yer books and all tha'. Here–" Hagrid removed his coat and handed it to Harry. "You can kip under that. Don' mind if it wiggles a bit – think there might be a few door mice left in there."


	5. Welcome to Diagon Alley

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed and favourited. I hope you like this chapter. The next will take awhile, because I had the previous four all written. Also, I took liberties with the Hogwarts uniform list, laying it out the way it might be if they actually wore uniforms like they do in the movies.**

* * *

_Chapter Five: Welcome To Diagon Alley _

Alice woke first the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight.

_It was a dream._ She told herself firmly. _I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me and Harry that we were going to wizard's school. When I open my eyes, I'll be next to Harry in our cupboard._

There was a loud tapping noise.

_And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door… _Alice thought, her heart sinking. But she still didn't open her eyes. It had been such a good dream…

*_Tap. Tap. Tap*_

"All right," Alice mumbled. "We're getting up."

She sat up, and Hagrid's heavy coat slipped off of her. The hut was full of sunlight; the storm was over. Harry was still sound asleep on the floor beside her, as was Hagrid on the collapsed sofa. The source of the tapping noise, it turned out, was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.

Alice leapt to her feet, a bright grin on her face, so happy she felt like a balloon was swelling inside her stomach.

"It was real!" Alice said in a whisper.

She ran to the window and opened it quickly. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't budge. The owl then fluttered to the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Alice cried. The hubbub had woken Harry, who yelled when he saw that his makeshift blanket was being assaulted by a large bird.

"Hagrid!" Alice said loudly. "There's an owl on your coat–"

"Pay him." Hagrid grunted into the sofa.

"What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."

Alice looked at Harry, who shrugged, and they began to search the pockets. Hagrid's coat, it turned out, seemed to be made of nothing but pockets – bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, mint humbugs, tea-bags – but finally Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.

"Give him five Knuts." Hagrid said sleepily.

"Knuts?" asked Alice.

"The little bronze ones."

Harry counted out five of the little bronze coins, and the owl held out its leg so that he could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew out of the open window.

Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

"Best be off, Harry, Alice. Lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school an' all."

Alice was turning over the wizard coins in her hand and looking at them. She had just thought of something that made him feel like the happy balloon inside her had got a puncture.

"Um – Hagrid?" Alice said.

"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.

"We haven't got any money." Alice said sadly, looking at her brother.

"You're right," said Harry, sinking to the floor.

"And you heard Uncle Vernon," Alice added, sniffing slightly. "He won't give us a single pound."

"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up, "D'yeh think yer parents didn' leave yeh anythin'?"

"But if our house was destroyed–"

"They wouldn't keep their money in the house, Alice!" admonished Harry, starting to feel excited again. "They'd put it in a bank, right?"

"That's right, Harry," said Hagrid. "Firs' stop Gringotts, wizards' bank. Have a sausage."

"Wizards have _banks_?"Alice asked incredulously.

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

Harry dropped the sausage he had been holding. Alice nearly choked on hers.

"_Goblins_?" Harry gasped as Hagrid thumped Alice on the back.

"Yeah – so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, you two. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe – 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you two – getting' things from Gringotts – knows he can trust me, see."

Hagrid smiled proudly.

"Got everythin'?" he asked. The twins nodded – it wasn't like they had anything to bring but their one bag. "Come on, then."

Harry and Alice followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, but with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.

"How did you get here?" asked Alice, looking around for another boat.

"Flew." said Hagrid.

"_Flew_?"

"Yeah – but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."

They settled into the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.

"Seems a shame ter row now, though," said Hagrid, giving the Potters a sideways look. "If I was ter – er – speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"

"Of course not," said Alice. They were eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out his pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off towards land.

"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" asked Harry curiously after a moment.

"Spells – enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper. "They say there's dragons guarding some of the high–security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way – Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

When Hagrid began to read his newspaper, _The Daily Prophet_, the twins went quiet. They had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone when they did this, but it was very difficult, as they had never had so many questions in their lives.

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Alice asked. She didn't think anything would surprise her now.

"Course," Hagrid said. "They wanted Dumbledore fer minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' for advice."

"But what does a Ministry of Magic _do_?" asked Harry.

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."

"Why?" asked Harry.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Because then everyone would want magic solutions for their problems, Harry." Harry stuck his tongue out at her.

"Right," said Hagrid as the boat bumped the shore, and they climbed up the stone steps onto the street.

Passers-by stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the tube station. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as everyone else, but he kept pointing out perfectly normal things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, you two? Things those Muggles dream up, eh?"

"Hagrid," Alice said cautiously. "Did you say there were _dragons _at Gringotts?"

"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

"You'd _like _one?" Harry asked, sure he'd heard him wrong.

"Wanted once since I was a kid – here we go."

They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes, and Hagrid, who couldn't understand "Muggle money", as he called it, handed some bills to Alice to buy their tickets.

People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary yellow circus tent. Of course, the twins didn't look much better themselves – they were still in their clothes from the previous night, which were creased from drying on their bodies, itchy from the seawater, and probably smelly. Harry's hair looked worse than usual, and Alice's had knots the size of her fist.

"Still got yer letters?" Hagrid asked them as he counted stitches.

They took out the parchment envelopes.

"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh'll need."

They each flipped them over, even though they had already read them. They never got tired of seeing all the strange things on the list, especially now that they knew they were going to _own_ these things:

**_HOGWARTS SCHOOL _**

**_of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_**

_UNIFORM_

_First-Year students will require:_

_1. __Three sets of plain work robes (black)__2. __At least three plain white collared shirts (short or long sleeved)__3. __At least two pairs of black, dark grey, or navy trousers for gentlemen, the same colours in skirts for ladies__4. __Socks (of any length) in white, black, dark grey, and/or navy__5. __At least three sweaters (no–sleeved or long–sleeved) in black or grey__6. __Black shoes of any style__7. __Winter accessories such as hats, scarves, and gloves in black or grey.__8. __One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)__One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_COURSE BOOKS_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

**_The Standard Books of Spells (Grade 1) _**_by Miranda Goshawk_

**_A History of Magic _**_by Bathilda Bagshot_

**_Magical Theory _**_by Adalbert Waffling_

**_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _**_by Emeric Switch_

**_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _**_by Phyllida Spore_

**_Magical Draughts and Potions _**_by Arsenius Jigger_

**_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _**_by Newt Scamander_

**_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _**_b__y Quentin Trimble._

_OTHER EQUIPMENT_

_1 Wand_

_1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS._

"Can we buy all this in London?" Alice asked, thinking of wands and broomsticks in the front window of _Toy Master._

"If yeh know where to go," Hagrid replied with a wink.

Harry and Alice had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in a way that was ordinary…to the twins, at least. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.

"I don't know how Muggles manage without magic," He said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.

Hagrid was so large that he parted the crowd with ease; the twins simply had to keep up. They passed book shops, clothing shops, music stores, hamburger bars, and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it might sell a magic wand or a cauldron. This was simply an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be mounds of gold buried miles beneath their feet? Might this not be an elaborate joke the Dursleys had cooked up?

If the twins hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humour, they would probably think so. Yet, even though everything Hagrid had told them so far was almost unimaginable, Harry and Alice couldn't help but trust him.

As they continued past ordinary shops, Alice wondered. Maybe Hagrid would help her and her brother buy some 'Muggle' clothing, so to speak. Their ordinary clothes were so horrible, and after all they did have a while to wait before they could go to Hogwarts. The Dursleys would hardly let them prance about in robes until then.

"This is it," said Hagrid, finally coming to a halt. "The Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. They wouldn't have noticed it at all if Hagrid hadn't pointed it out. In fact, the twins both had a feeling that they and Hagrid were the only ones who could see it. Before they could mention this, however, Hagrid had steered them inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. The low buzz of chatter stopped as they walked in. everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they all waved and smiled, and as the twins and Hagrid approached the bar, the bartended said, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't Tom. I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping a hand on Alice and Harry's shoulders and causing them to sway a bit on the spot.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at the children. "Are these – can they be–?"

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.

"Bless my soul," continued Tom, "The Potters….what an honour."

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed towards Alice, and seized her hand, tears in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Miss Potter, welcome back."

He moved to Harry nearly sobbing by the time he shook the boy's hand.

Harry and Alice didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at them. The woman with the pipe was puffing it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.

Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry and Alice found themselves shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Miss Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Big honour, Mr. Potter. May I call you Harry?"

"Alice, isn't it? Oh my stars, you look _just_ like Lily!"

"Always wanted to shake your hands – I'm all of a flutter!"

"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."

"We've seen you before!" cried Harry, and Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off his head in excitement. "You bowed to us in a shop once, didn't you?"

"He remembers!" cried Dedalus, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? Harry Potter remembers me!"

They shook hands again and again – Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. After a moment, a pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

"Professor Quirrell, didn' see you over there!" Hagrid cried. "Harry, Alice – Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand first. "C-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you t-t-two."

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor?" asked Alice curiously.

"D-Defence Against the D-D-Dart Arts," muttered Quirrell with a slight shudder, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-Potter?" he laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.

But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep the Potters to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.

"Must get on – lots ter buy. Come on, Harry, Alice."

Doris Crockford shook their hands one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a rubbish bin and a few weeds.

Hagrid grinned at them.

"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh – mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

"Is he always that nervous?" Alice asked sympathetically.

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some first-hand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag – never been the same since. Scared of students, scared if his own subject, even – now, where's my umbrella?"

Vampires? Hags? The twins' head were spinning. Dragons and goblins were bad enough – what else was actually out there? Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.

"Three up…two across…" He muttered. "Right. Stand back, you two."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.

The brick he touched quivered – it wriggled – in the middle, as small hole appeared – it grew wider and wider – a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight, lined with shops of all kinds.

"Welcome," Hagrid said. "To Diagon Alley."

He grinned at the Potter's amazed looks, and they stepped through the archway.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. _Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self-stirring – Collapsible, _said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid. "But we gotta get yer money first."

Harry and Alice wished they had about ten more eyes. They turned their heads in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, and the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"

They heard a soft hooting from a dark shop with a sign saying _Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy._ Several boys of about their age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," They heard one of them say. "The new Nimbus Two Thousand – fastest ever–" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments, shops with shelves full of jars of various disgusting looking things, tottering piles of spell books, rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…

"Gringotts." Hagrid announced.

It was a very tall white building. On the front was an inscription, a poem warning intruders, and inside it looked like a great marble hall with desks against the walls and goblins working busily at them. Hagrid went up to one and said they needed the Potter vault. When the goblin asked for a key, Hagrid promptly emptied several pockets of various things: mouldy dog biscuits, a ham, and several white dormice until he announced that he had it.

Hagrid then said he had a letter from Professor Dumbledore and he need to get "The You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen". The goblin read the letter seriously, then called two other goblins named Griphook and Appock to take them to the vaults. Harry asked what was in vault seven hundred and thirteen, but Hagrid said he couldn't tell them, and then climbed into a cart with Appock, while the twins went with Griphook. Hagrid said he'd see them in a few minutes, but he didn't look very optimistic.

Though they were a little nervous about being alone with the slightly scary looking goblin, the Potters relaxed as they zoomed through the dark underground, and it was impossible for them to remember which roads they had taken, though Harry tried at first. Alice heard him murmuring, "Left, right, right, left…" but he stopped after only five. The rattling cart seemed to know its way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

Finally, they arrived at their vault. Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came tumbling out, and as it cleared, Harry and Alice gasped.

Inside were piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins. It was incredible – a small fortune, belonging to them, buried under London. Yet all their lives, they had worn old, ill-fitting clothes, slept in a closet, and never had a single toy…

Griphook gave them each a 'complementary' leather money bag, and they piled as much as they could into them, not knowing how much they would need. Griphook explained that the gold ones were Galleons, the silver were Sickles, and the bronze were Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle.

"It's easy enough to remember," he added at the end, and laughed darkly at the twin's doubtful looks.

One wild cart ride later and the twins were waiting in the lobby of Gringotts for Hagrid to emerge with Appock. After a few minutes, his giant figure appeared, looking very green and shaky. He told them that the carts made him nauseous and said he was going to get a drink back at the Leaky Cauldron. He pointed them towards Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions to get their school clothes.

"Do you think we can get normal clothes there?" wondered Alice. "I mean, we have money now…"

"We'll have to ask them, I suppose," Harry said as they approached the store.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed in all mauve.

"Hogwarts, dears?" she said when Harry started to speak. They nodded nervously.

Madam Malkin smiled. "Got one in there now being fitted up, s'matter o' fact."

In the back of the shop was a pale boy with white-blond hair, a pointed face, slicked back hair, and steel gray eyes. Madam Malkin stood Harry across from the other boy, then Alice on his other side, and began to pin them as well.

"Hello," said the blonde boy. "Hogwarts as well?"

"Yes," answered Harry.

"My father is next door buying books, and mother is across the way looking at wands." He continued in a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't understand why first years aren't allowed them. I think I'll bully father into buying me one and smuggle it in somehow." He grinned evilly and added, "Have _you _got your own brooms?"

"No," Alice said.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No…" Harry said, wondering what in the world Quidditch was.

"Well, I do." Continued the boy. "Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my House, and I must say I agree. Know what House you'll be in yet?"

"Er – no…" said Alice. They were feeling stupider by the minute. Houses? Quidditch? What was all this?

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, the whole family's been for generations." Said the boy. "Imagine being in Hufflepuff. I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Not knowing what he was talking about, the twins gave noncommittal shrugs of their shoulders.

"I say, look at that man!" cried the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at the twins and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid." Alice said, glad they knew something the other child didn't.

"He works at Hogwarts." Added her brother.

"Oh," said the boy. "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper." said Alice. They liked this boy less every second.

"Yes, exactly." He said. "I hear he's a sort of _savage – _lives in a hut on the school grounds. And every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and sets fire to his bed." He laughed.

"_We_ think he's brilliant." Harry said coldly. He and his sister glared at the boy.

"_Do _you?" he sneered. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead." Alice said shortly. They weren't going to go into that matter with this kid.

"Oh, sorry." He said, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were _our _kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." Harry said.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you?" he said. "They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never heard of Hogwarts until they get their letter, imagine. think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

"Potter." Harry said flatly.

Simultaneously, the blond gasped, Madam Malkin shrieked and tripped, ripping Alice's sleeve, and her assistant toppled over on top of Harry.

"Did you say _Potter?" _he stammered. "You're Alice and Harry Potter?"

"In my shop too! Such an honour!" Madam Malkin said excitedly, beaming as she hurriedly repaired Alice's robe with what must have been a wand, and helped Harry up.

"But who have you been living with all this time?" asked the boy suspiciously as the two women got back to work, focusing on Harry and Alice, much to his obvious annoyance.

"Our Aunt, Uncle, and cousin." Answered Alice.

"Our Aunt was our mum's sister." Harry added.

The boy stared at them for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"What?" Alice demanded angrily, feeling really annoyed with the boy. He was a brat!

The boy answered quickly, though sneering again, "You've been living with _Muggles _all your lives, that's all,"

Before he could say any more, Madam Malkin announced, "That's you done, dears," she said, smiling happily at them, and the two, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, stepped quickly from their stools.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose." He said in his drawling voice. The Potters were not looking forward to it.

As the twins were paying Madam Malkin for their robes, Alice asked, "Do you know of any shops here that might sell Muggle clothes?"

"Yes, there's a shop just down the street on the right side." She chirped happily.

Harry and Alice were rather quiet as they ate their ice cream. Hagrid took them to buy parchment and quills, and they cheered up a bit when they found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote.

When they left the shop, Harry asked, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how much you two don' know – not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make us feel worse," said Alice, and they told them about the blond kid in Madam Malkin's.

"–and he seemed to find something hilarious with the fact that we were raised by Muggles."

"Don' worry about that," said Hagrid, waving his hand dismissively. "Some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles – look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

"So what _is _Quidditch?" pressed Harry.

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like – like soccer in the Muggle world – everyone follows Quidditch – played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls – sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Hufflepuff and Slytherin?" asked Alice.

"School Houses. There's four – Gryffindor – that's where your parents were, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but–"

"I bet we're in Hufflepuff." said Harry gloomily.

"Hey – speak for yourself!" cried Alice jokingly, but privately she thought Harry might be right.

"It's better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," Hagrid said darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Vol-, sorry – You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Years an' years ago." Hagrid said.

Next they bought Harry and Alice's school books at a shop called Florish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with all manner of books. Hagrid almost had to drag them away from _Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) _by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." Harry defended.

"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid.

Alice decided it would be a good idea to get extra books, for background reading, so they pick up copies of _Modern Magical History, Hogwarts, a History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, _and _Great Wizarding Feats of the Twentieth Century, _not to mention plenty of novels written by wizards and witches.

Hagrid wouldn't let Harry by a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got two nice sets of scales for weighing potion ingredients and some collapsible brass telescopes. Then they visited the Apothecary, where Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for two supplies of basic potion ingredients for the twins.

Outside, they checked their list again.

"Just got yer wands left – oh yeah, an' I still haven't gotten you two a birthday present."

The twins went red.

"You don't have to–" started Harry.

"I know I don' have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yeh each an animal. We can go over to the Magical Menagerie before yeh get yer wands."

Twenty minutes later, they left the Menagerie. Harry was carrying a cage which held a beautiful snowy white owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. Alice carried a rectangular cage carrying a large white and green cat that was part Kneazle – Hagrid had explained to them what that meant. Harry and Alice had always loved animals, but never had any of their own before. They couldn't stop thanking Hagrid.

"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivander's left now – only place fer wands, Ollivander's, and yeh gotta have the best wands."

Magic wands…this is what they had really been looking forward to.

A tinkling bell sounded in the back of the store as they stepped in. They set their bags and animals by the door, and Hagrid sat on the single wooden chair to wait. There were thousands of narrow boxes stacked up to the ceiling, and the very air seemed to tingle with magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. The Potters jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly of the spindly chair.

"Hello," They said together, rather awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man, who had white hair and silver eyes that didn't seem to need to blink. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you three soon. Harry and Alice Potter…"

"Why am I always last?" asked Alice, rather annoyed. The man didn't seem to hear her.

"Harry, you have your mother's eyes, and Alice, you have your father's – but my goodness, you look so much like your parents at your age. I remember when your mother first came in here and bought her wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Ollivander moved closer to them. Harry wished he would blink; those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.

"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for Transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard."

Mr. Ollivander had come so close that they were about a foot apart.

"And that's where…."

Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Alice's forehead with a long, white finger. She was started to think that Mr. Ollivander may not be _all there._

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"

He shook his head and then, to Alice's relief especially, spotted Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again…. Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

"Er – yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," He added brightly.

"But you don't _use _them?" Ollivander said sharply.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Alice noticed he gripped his umbrella rather tightly as he spoke.

"Hmmm," said Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now – Mr. Potter, you first. Which is your wand arm?" he pulled out a long tape measure.

"Er – well, I'm right-handed," Harry said.

"Hold out your arm. That's it…"

He measured Harry all over, and then his sister. They seemed to try every wand in the shop; Harry would try it and then pass it to Alice, and they all ended up in a pile on the spindly chair.

Finally, Ollivander said, "Hmm…tricky customers, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match somewhere…." And then he scurried into the back of the shop, emerging a second later with two very dusty boxes. He handed one to Harry and one to Alice.

Looking at each other nervously, the twins took them and waved them

Immediately, a warmth went up their arms and red and gold sparks shot out the tip of Harry's wand and red and blue from Alice's. They grinned at each other. Hagrid whooped and clapped, and Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well…how curious….yes indeed…very curious…"

As he wrapped their wands up in brown paper, Alice asked, "Sorry, but, what's curious?"

Ollivander fixed the twins with his silver stare again.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss Potter. Every single one. It just so happens that you two have very rare double cores, and they all share one common half. It is curious that the phoenix that gave half of each of your cores gave one other feather. Just one. It is very curious indeed that you two should be destined for these wands when their brother gave you those scars."

Alice gulped. Harry went pale.

Ollivander continued, "Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious how these things happened. The wand chooses the wizard or witch, remember…I think we must expect great things from you three…. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great."

Alice shivered. Harry decided he didn't like Ollivander much – he was a bit scary. The old wandmaker then informed them of their wands types; Harry's wand was holly, eleven inches, with a phoenix and hippogriff feather core, Alice's was hazel, ten and a quarter inches, with phoenix feather and a dragon heartstring core. The twins paid Mr. Ollivander fourteen gold Galleons total for their wands, and Ollivander bowed them from the shop.

It was late afternoon but the twins – well, mostly Alice – convinced Hagrid to stop by the Muggle clothing shop where they picked up about two dozen outfits each. The Muggle clothes were much cheaper than their robes and other equipment, and even Harry was excited to have clothes that he liked and that fit them.

People stared even more on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, not to mention their pets. Harry sat with the snowy owl in his lap, still sleeping in her cage. Alice had her cat on her lap as well, but she got a lot less stares than her brother, even though her cat was mostly green.

At Paddington station, Hagrid bought them each a hamburger before their train arrived. The siblings kept looking around; everything looked so strange somehow.

"You three all right? Yer very quiet." Hagrid said.

They shared a look, not sure if they could explain. They'd just had the best birthday of their lives – and yet…

"Everyone thinks we're special," Alice said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Madam Malkin, Mr. Ollivander…"

"But we don't know anything about magic at all!" said Harry. "How can they expect great things from us?"

"We're famous and we can't even remember what we're famous for." continued Alice, "We don't know what happened the night Vol-, I mean, the night our parents died."

Hagrid leaned forward across the table. Behind the wild beard and eye brows, he wore a very kind smile.

"Don' you worry, you two. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll do just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts – I did – still do, 'smatter of fact."

Hagrid helped them onto the train that would take them back to the Dursleys, then handed them each an envelope.

"Yer tickets for Hogwarts," He said. "First o' September – King's Cross – it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, Harry, you send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me….see yeh soon."

The train pulled out of the station. Harry and Alice wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; they rose in their seats and pressed their noses against the windows, but when they blinked, Hagrid was gone.


End file.
